GRAND MARAIS, MINNESOTA

June 11, 2007

Just came back from three wonderful days in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Our son Adam came with along with Paul Wannarka and his son Weston. We canoed and portaged 30 miles covering part of the area that burned during the Ham Lake Fire this spring and Cavity Lake Fire last summer.

The portage between Seagull and Alpine Lakes was at the center of the Cavity Lake Fire. All the trees are completely gone. You don’t see a single live tree along the entire portage. A small amount of green grass and a few wildflowers are the only signs of life coming back. It is a sharp contrast between the parts of the BWCAW that burned and the area just over the ridge that was saved due to the firefighting efforts.

Red Rock Lake

The two attached photos demonstrate that difference. We had the most beautiful campsite on Red Rock Lake. Pink Lady Slippers were growing around the site. Loons and bald eagles frequented the bay along with two pine marten and a fisher. We even had a woodpecker that was nesting in a Red Pine at the water’s edge. We watched the adult feed the baby once and then it decided it was time for the little one to leave the nesting cavity. It stopped feeding the baby for most of the day. The adult came back in the evening but didn’t give it any food. As soon as the adult flew off, the little one jumped out of the hole and followed. It was a great experience to witness.

The last day out the wind went down and the lakes reflected the shoreline in their glass like surface. Even Saganaga Lake had a glass like surface. Saganaga is about 8 to 10 miles long and it was a picture perfect day canoeing across that large expanse of water in perfect calm waters. Like Adam said as we were crossing Saganaga, “This is an absolute perfect day for canoeing”.